Viewing comments posted by Sharon

This plant was a gift about 4 years ago; it was potted and maybe about 6 inches tall. Now it towers above 5' and lives in its pot outdoors in summer and inside in winter here in zone 6/7 in western Kentucky. It needs filtered light and likes humidity.

This is a lovely early spring bloom in Kentucky. They dot the hillsides with their deep rosy color. The black seedpods of fall create quite a show too, and you'll need to watch out for multiple seedlings if the pods are left where they fall.

Cercis species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species.

This plant started from a tiny seedling about 20 years ago. It lost its top during the wretched ice storm of 2009, but still retained its very nice cone shape. The needle-like leaves turn orange in fall, then shed. It's the only one of the cypress trees that loses its leaves, which is why it's called the bald cypress.

This little plant is a happy ground cover for shady areas. It has a tiny white bloom, much like a strawberry plant in mid spring. It is considered invasive in some climates, but it has taken 4 years for it to fill in a 2' x 4' semi shaded area here in zone 6/7.

This plant grows so well in Kentucky, blooms through fall if deadheaded. It provides a nice backdrop since it can grow quite tall. I also have the plant in white, but it seems the blue/lavender gets more insect traffic.

Asparagus fern is a great background plant, or one that provides a focal point. It is a perennial in Kentucky, coming up from roots in early spring.

In September and October, this sedum is usually the only bloom I can always count on. Our recent summers have been hot and dry here in western KY, but that doesn't seem to bother this sedum at all.

This plant is easy to transplant and doesn't seem to mind a change to a warmer, drier climate.
Historically spiderwort was used medicinally by Native Americans.

I started this plant from seed. A few years ago I had a huge fully mature Magnolia growing too close to my house and the wet soil from heavy spring rains tilted it to about a 45 degree angle. The tree had to go, but I saved one of the seed pods. I knew nothing about growing Magnolias from seed, but pretended to be a bird and dropped a few of the seeds in some select places in my flower garden. The following spring, I had two seedlings. I gave one of them away and kept this one, but moved it to my back garden. It is now about 12 feet tall and produced its first bloom this year.

Two or three years later, another seedling appeared in one of the places I'd planted those seeds. Now I have another that is about 3 feet tall. Amazing how that happens. Nature's surprises.

The Mayapple was used by the Native Americans and very early herbalists as a medicinal plant, though not internally because the plant is toxic.

Akebia, chocolate vine, is considered invasive in some states, and is not a native plant to the US. It does not invade by either seed or root here in western Kentucky, but it is a fast grower and its vines rapidly reach upward and to each side claiming anything in their way. It will strangle whatever grows nearby. It's beautiful if trained to a stand alone trellis and its delicate tiny blooms provide that amazing chocolate scent in the very early part of March and April.

Fennel is a food plant for the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, in this zone it is the Swallowtail. It also provides a faint licorice flavor and is especially good as a seasoning for baked fish.

The blooms appear in early summer and have a faint hint of pink. The pink lasts for weeks and then it fades leaving the smoky look until fall. The foliage is glossy dark green, with a leather-like texture. It is a slow grower and doesn't get very tall.

This is a gorgeous plant for shade, but it is terribly and very quickly invasive. Its long vines need to be kept trimmed, but it grows well in shady areas where nothing else will grow. It also has one of the earliest spring blooms.

This plant has the sweetest fragrance -- earthy, but with vanilla.